Folding catafalque.



,No. 672,8" Patented Apr. 23, 190|.

A. M. SMITZ.

FOLDING CATAFALGUE.

(Application led Mar. 6, 1900.)

(Nu Model.)

mulll .Il Illl W/TNESSES A TTOHNEYS Tn: Nonms Perris co.. rnduumo.. wAsHnNnToN. u. c

UNITED STATES ATENT muon.

ADOLPH MARTIN SMITZ, OF DEPERE, WISCONSIN.

FO LDIN G CATAFALQU E.

'SPECIFICTION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 672,811, dated. April 23, 1901.

Application filed March 6, 1900. Serial No. 7,612. (No model.) i

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH MARTIN SMITZ, residing at Depere, in the county of Brown and State of Wisconsin, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Catafalques, of which the following is a specification.

In Catholic churches when a funeral service is performed without the presence of the corpse a so-called catafalque is sometimes used, the same being set in the place that would be normally occupied by the coffin, which it resembles in form,and being covered with a pall, so that it simulates the appearance of a coffin. I have devised an improved construction of such catafalque, whereby it is adapted to be folded so as to occupy small space and to be conveniently handled and stored, as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Y Figure 1 is a perspective view of the catafalque set up as in use and partly covered by a pall. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section online 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the catafalque folded. Fig. iis a side View of a portion of the catafalque, showing itpartly collapsed.

The catafalque is composed of two similar main frames A and A and a series of hinged and folding frames B and C, which connect the former, as shown. The said main frames A A are oblong and rectangular, having in practice about the relative length and width of a coffin of usual proportions. They are constructed of side bars, end bars, and transverse connectingbars a. The folding frames B and C are made of two like rectangular parts hinged together and hinged to the main frames A A', so that they may stand erect, as in Figs. 1 and 2, or may fold inward and lie doubled one part upon the other, as shown in Fig. 3. A folding frame C is arranged transversely at each end of the main frames A A', and one, B, is arranged'at the middle of the main frames, on each side thereof. Thus `there are two folding frames B B opposite each other at the middle and sides of the catafalque and two similar ones C C opposite each other at the ends of the same. As shown,

the leaf-hinges b employed are arranged on the outer sides of the folding frames B C, whereby the latter are adapted to fold inward (see Fig. 4 and arrows in Fig. 2) and to lie flush, as shown in Fig. 3, in the spaces provided in the respective main frames AA between the side, end, and cross bars a. of the latter.

To set up the catafalque, it is laid horizontal in the collapsed form shown in Fig. 3 upon foldable stools or other pedestals ordinarily employed by undertakers,and the upper main frame A is then raised from the lower end A' until the folding frames B and C assume a vertical position, as in Fig. l. Since the adjacent middle bars of the folding frames B C in such case abut squarely like the members of a rule-joint, the said frames will maintain such vertical position, and thus support the upper main frame as required. The eX- panded structure being then covered with a pall ce, as indicated in Fig. l, the semblance of a coffin thusdraped is obviously produced.

When collapsed,as in Fig. 3, the catafalque may be easily handled and hung up upon nails, brackets, or other form of supports or may be otherwise stored or packed in small space.

What I claim is- 1. A collapsible catafalque comprising two main parts or frames having spaces as specified and a series of connecting-frames which are hinged to and adapted to fold into said spaces in the main frames, substantially as shown and described.

2. A collapsible catafalque comprising two main skeleton frames having like proportions and provided with spaces as specified., and a series of like foldable frames, which consist of two parts hinged together and to the respective main frames, at the inner edges of the latter, whereby they are adapted to fold fiat together, so as to lie flush in spaces of the main frames, as shown and described.

Dated at Depere, Wisconsin, February 23,

ADOLPI-I MARTIN SMITZ. Witnesses:

J. H. GLOUDEMANS, M. J. MAES. 

